


Crashing and Burning

by LeopardFire



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fluff, Rhea exists for a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-23 23:29:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20348593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeopardFire/pseuds/LeopardFire
Summary: Dimitri teaches Claude how to ice skate.





	Crashing and Burning

**Author's Note:**

> I went ice skating yesterday and fell down and that's how I got the idea to write this

When Rhea assigned Byleth to Fhirdiad to assist in installing the new order of the Western Church, she told them that they could choose whoever they liked to go with them. It was to be a fairly short expedition, after all - a few days at most, with Byleth mostly being sent to wave their Heroes Relic around as a not-so-subtle reminder of what would come if the Western Church dared to stray again, while Seteth put forward most of the actual administrative efforts.

“I know, one day, that this will prove a valuable experience to you,” she had said, while Byleth nodded with their typical blank stare. 

Claude knew this because he had been standing outside Rhea’s advisory room as the conversation went down, and while he personally found her saying so to be as ominous as the fiery hell of Ailell, he had hoped nonetheless that Teach would choose him for the mission.

Of course, the first student Byleth saw after this was Claude, and right on cue, they had asked: “Do you want to go to Fhirdiad?”

His answer was quite predictable.

What wasn’t predictable, however, was that Byleth would go on to choose the other two house leaders - yes, Edelgard and Dimitri - to accompany them as well. It was a bold move for the Golden Deer professor to make, but Byleth being Byleth, there was no way that either would refuse. And so, the four of them traveled together again, not unlike their first journey to the monastery.

Well, there were a few differences. Understandably, Dimitri seemed quite stressed out by the whole thing. Being the future leader of the Kingdom, there was no way he could enjoy letting the other two heirs have such an intimate glimpse into the religious turmoil plaguing the region. 

But what Claude couldn’t explain was why Dimitri kept sneaking glances towards Edelgard, who seemed equally uncomfortable. Had something happened between them in the Kingdom’s capital prior to their time at the monastery? He doubted that the Imperial princess had ever had a reason to set foot in Kingdom territory, but then again, there was a lot that he didn’t know.

By the time they had finally arrived in Fhirdiad, the awkward silence hanging over the group had become simply unbearable, to the point that even Byleth looked visibly concerned.

“I have a suggestion,” they said. “While Seteth and the Knights go take care of business, why don’t we all take the time to explore? I’ll go with Edelgard, and Dimitri, you can show Claude around.”

“Are we not to observe the Knights? I believe that was what Lady Rhea intended,” Edelgard pointed out, but her voice lacked its usual force, clearly enamored by the idea of getting to Byleth all to herself.

“You can do that all you like back at Garreg Mach,” Byleth responded. “I think all three of you would benefit more from a forced respite.”

Claude had made it no secret to his teacher that he had an interest in prying into the Church’s affairs in the past - and the drama in the Western Church was especially tantalizing. But when he saw Edelgard widen her eyes at the mention of a “respite”, and Dimitri avert his gaze in a feeble attempt to mask his interest, Claude found that he didn’t have it him to object.

And so they broke off into groups of two, with Edelgard and Byleth heading for a sweets shop recommended by the prince of the Kingdom himself, while Claude was left to babysit said prince.

To be clear, Claude didn’t hold anything against Dimitri. From what he had surmised from their school life together, his companion was a kind, hardworking, serious guy, just as any future king should be - but that made him so _ boring _.

“What are those two going to talk about?” Claude wondered aloud, wishing he could simply eavesdrop on their conservation. He looked toward Dimitri, prompting a response, but the prince’s gaze was fixed squarely ahead.

“Have you ever ice skated, Claude?” 

Claude followed Dimitri’s gaze and realized he was staring at a frozen lake - manmade, most likely, seeing as it was surrounded by restaurants and shops as if by design. Several people glided along its surface, wearing shoes with narrows blades to do so. 

“No.”

“Do you want to try?”

And that is how Claude found himself staring down at a pair of boots with blades sharp enough to kill. Though the two were wearing cloaks - it was the cold season, after all, and Byleth had advised them to obscure their faces as much as possible to avoid getting signaled out - the person behind the booth that stocked the death-boots immediately grinned at the sight of Dimitri.

“I used to come here often with Felix, Sylvain, and Ingrid when we were children,” Dimitri had explained after acquiring their footwear. “Do not worry - he would never tell anyone of our identities.”

Claude, with his appearance barely known to the people of the Alliance, let alone the rest of Fódlan, had no reason to worry for that particular purpose. In fact, he originally believed that he had no reason to worry at all - his parents had prepared him to ride the ruliest wyverns, to swim through crashing waves - the prospect of simply gliding across some frozen lake could hardly daunt him.

Furthering bolstering his confidence was seeing how easily Dimitri took to the ice. His body swayed gently from side to side as he moved his legs in elegant strokes, as if he were a bird gliding through a summer’s breeze. Claude could hardly believe this was the same stiff, uptight prince he had been conversing with just moments before.

Of course, Claude couldn’t let himself be outdone. With a little shake to amp himself up, he skidded onto the ice - and there he was, he was doing it, speeding across the lake -

The weird thing about ice was that it _ burned. _

It all happened so quickly that Claude couldn’t tell right where things went wrong. At one point, he was racing across the ice; the next, he was throwing his hands down to stop his head from slamming into it. 

He tried his best to handle the fall with grace, kneeling upwards as he stared at his red hands to check they weren’t bleeding, because by Fódlan’s goddess, they sure felt like they were. 

As if his hubris had not already been punished enough, as he did this, a small group of children effortlessly came his way, snickering as they wove around him.

A situation that was supposed to be nostalgic for Dimitri ended up bringing Claude back to his own childhood. It had been a long time since Claude had heard people laughing at him like that, but of course he could never forget what it sounded like. Trying something in earnest, only to fail miserably - to get laughed at and told that he would never belong… 

“Claude! Are you- are you, ah-” 

Dimitri had skated over to help the moment the crash went down, but his current state, that being doubled over in laughter, stopped him from doing anything of the sort. Perhaps, if it had been anyone else, this display of amusement would have only caused him greater embarrassment. But Claude knew Dimitri well enough to understand that he would never intentionally tease another if he could control it.

“Is my pain really that funny to you? I’ve never seen you laugh so much in all of our time together,” Claude said, attempting to return to his feet. As he did so, however, he realized that Dimitri had ceased his laughing fit in order to help him. And for whatever reason, as he grabbed Claude’s hands to assist in raising him up, he did not let go.

“My apologies. I was just… caught off guard. I should have offered to help you get started.”

Apparently, “getting started” meant having Dimitri guide Claude through the ice, babbling on about distributing one’s weight in order to skate properly.

At some point, Claude should have pointed out that he was ready to try again, independent of Dimitri. The children that had scorned Claude before were watching them, whispering amongst themselves, no doubt finding it pathetic that someone at his age needed such immense assistance.

But his hands, gripped into Dimitri’s, were still burning, and it was all he could do to stare down at them and wonder why.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Dimitri said, beginning to frown as the two found themselves within earshot of the children. “I always had to help Felix like this when we were younger - ah, please do not tell him I told you that.”

Now it was Claude’s turn to laugh.

““How about we just keep this whole ordeal to ourselves?” 

“I can agree to that.”

And so, the two skated onward, together.

-

When he entered the Golden Deer common room the days after their expedition, he found half his class staring at him expectantly.

“Did you learn anything of interest?” Lorenz demanded.

Claude didn’t hesitate to answer, smiling as his promise to Dimitri rang in his ears.

“Not at all.”


End file.
